1. Field
The present invention relates generally to data communication, and more specifically to a method and apparatus for supporting wireless data services on a TE2 device.
2. Background
Wireless communication networks are widely deployed to provide various communication services such as voice, packet data, and so on. With advancements in wireless data technology, wireless networks and wireless devices are capable of supporting a multitude of wireless data services. Examples of such wireless data services include geographic position-based services, multimedia streaming and broadcast services, Short Message Service (SMS) and text messaging services, and so on. The spectrum of wireless data services and their capabilities are expanding rapidly, and new data applications are continually being developed to make use of these services.
A wireless device may be coupled to a TE2 device and used to provide or support wireless data services for the TE2 device. The wireless device may be a cellular phone, a user terminal, a data card, or some other device that is capable of providing access to a wireless data network. The TE2 device may be a laptop computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), or some other computing device. The terms “TE2 device” and “terminal equipment” are synonymous and used interchangeably. The wireless device may be coupled to the TE2 device in various manners such as, e.g., as an embedded card, a PCMCIA removable card, a tethered mode phone, and so on. The TE2 device may communicate with the wireless device using various hardware and/or software interconnections. In any case, the TE2 device uses the wireless device to gain access to the wireless data network for general Internet access and/or for other forms of data connectivity.
Many wireless data services are based on wireless device-centric designs. For these designs, the wireless data services are only accessible to the wireless device itself or are readily available to the wireless device. Furthermore, the wireless data services are often available using proprietary methodologies that are designed for specific wireless data network technologies such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Evolution Data Only (EVDO), and so on. The TE2 device typically communicates with, and relies upon, the wireless device to gain access to the wireless data services.
It is highly desirable for the TE2 device to be able to access the wide multitude of wireless data services that are available on the wireless device. This is beneficial for several reasons. First, a mobile user may only be able to access wireless data services if these services are available on the TE2 device. For example, the wireless device may be embedded in the TE2 device (e.g., in the form of a data card) and can no longer be used as a standalone device (such as a cellular phone). The TE2 device (and not the wireless device) would then provide a user interface to the mobile user and the wireless data services would need to be accessible via the TE2 device. Second, having the same wireless data services available on both the TE2 device and the wireless device would allow end applications to more fully utilize the available wireless data services.
There is therefore a need in the art for a method and apparatus for supporting wireless data services on a TE2 device.